Apparatus for purifying used mineral lubricating oil



g R. E. LANGsToN APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING USED MINER'AL LUBRICATING OIL "Filed sep-t. '27. 1921l 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N V EN TOR.

A TTORNE Y.

R. E. LAN'GsToN APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING USED MINERAL LUBRICATING OIL Aug. 3o, .1927.

Filed Sept. 27, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNE Y.

30 practice at this time is to `drain out the dirty eferring now to the drawings:

Patented Aug. 30, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT E. IANG'JJONx 0F FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, ASSIGNO TQ WAYNE COMPANY, OFIOBT WIYNE, INDIANA; A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

APABATIUS FOB PUBJIYING USED :MINERAL LUABRICATING OIL.

application inea september 27, 1 921. serial im.l 503,533.

t for further use, because they containfree carbon, the heavy ends of gasoline, kerosene orthe like, used as a motor fuel, water and 4acid, as well as dirt'. Such dirty oils have lost much of their viscosity.

- Dirty oils from the crank cases of airplane engines `or other internal combustion en-r gines, where sin-extremely high grade of liq uid fuel and lubricants are used, and the en gine is necessarily of a veryhigh degree of mechanical perfection, must have scarcely any of the heavy ends of gasoline, less water, and less acid than the lubricating` oil from engines of inferior construction.

Alhsuch oils soon become unfit for furdier use as a lubricant, because airplane engines must always be maintained at as nearly maximum eiciency asv possible, and it is a well known fact that they are then either thrown away, or inlsome instances used for '-road oiling. y

The lower the grade of gasoline, the more frequently theoihin the crank case will have to be changed in a given en e. The best oil and replace it with fresh oil in the cran cases of automobile engines, about once every two hundred miles of travel on trucks and about every five hundred lmiles of travel on pleasure cars. v

This invention relatesto a method of and a means for restoring to. its original effi-- ciency such usedmineral lubricating oil, rendering it fit for re-use as a lubricant.

Restoration `to former eiiiciency involves two changes in the dirty oil bein treated; reclaiming, that is, the'removal of gasoline, kerosene or other volatile constituents, and

clarifyin that is, the removal of carbon,

dirt, or t e like.

' Such apparatus in order to be practical m'ust be capable of operation by persons of ordinary mechanical ingenuity, be free from danger of ignition of volatile iluids driven oi, be free from Adanger of explosion and the ave be-l 5 come mixed therewith, become dirty and ungli@ operation must be cheap enough to make such restoration to eiciencypractical.

This invention consists in the combination of such elements as will `by their united action have these advantages, and produce the results above set forth, and these will be hereinafter, particularly pointed out.

Some of the apparatus heretofore used have been `ineiiicient in that the body of oil to be treated was heated by steam and therefore no temperature could be secured or maintained above'212 Fahrenheit..

The apparatus herein Adescribed and claimed is designed for use particularly .ona

oils that are not too dirty to be clarified after the volatile l constituents have been l.driven oi; a methodand means for restor-v ing to their original eiiiciencyvery dirty lubricatin oils are the subject of a separate applicatmn to wit:-Serial No. 503,534 iiled Se t. 27, 1921. 'v

the articular embodiment of my invention se ected for illustration,

Fi rel, is an elevation of the completed mglhanism shown in dotted lines, and

eated apparatus, ,with the internal aov ig. 2, is a top plan view of the same apparatus with the hood and hood support removed.

is a vertical cylindrical vtank surrounded on its bottom and sides by an oil jacket B, and the whole 'mechanism is sustained f within and supported by a casing C.

After. the hood D, has been swung to one v side, a suitable' uantity of dirty oil to be treatedis poure into the tank A, as indicated by the oil level shownin Fig. 1.

'Within the casing C, and beneath the oil jacket B is substantially filled with something capable Vof. maintaining a relatively` high temperature without ov aporizing, as a;

hea

the jacket oil, as rapidly as possible, until the oil`being treated in the tank is brought high"temperature oil, heat being @i ,Y plie to the body of oil being treated from' to that temperature above the boiling point of Water, found most suitable for the treatment of the particular oil being restored, in most cases preferably to about 4000 Fahrenheit. c is a heating space.

Gas is fed to the burner E through the pipe e. j

A thermostat F may be used to fix in advance and maintain the maximum temperature desired'to be obt-ained in the jacket oil. f

In order to coagulate the carbon and other line dirt in the oil and thus facilitateprecipitation, any suitable solution of carbonate of soda is put into the oil being treated be fore it reaches a temperature of 212o Fahrenheit, and stirred in.

The coagulant may be added after the volatile constituents of the dirty oil have been driven oil", the steam and heat shut off, as hereinafter described, and the oil being treated cooled to below 212o Fahrenheit. In fact this is the treatment I prefer; and also when so used the coagulant should be thoroughly stirred into and miXed with the body of oil being treated.

Immersed in the, jacket oil are. one-or more metal tubes g, preferably of copper, to which water is fed through pipe Gr from any suitable source of supply', and its flow is regulated by the needle valves g1, and fed slow enough to cause said tubes g, to act as a flash boiler. To make such an apparatus effective it is desirable that water should drip through said valves g1. When the water supply is taken from a' pressure system, a pressure reducing valve g2, is used in the line. These coils g pass from the jacket oil space into the space within the tank` A where they terminate in a ring g8, in the bottom'of the tank A.' This ring g3, is provided with a relatively large number of small holes from which the heated steam,

' generated by heat from the burner E, es-

capes into the body of the oil under treatment, and thereby agitatin the oil.

In order to keep the oil rom backing up into this steam coil a sufiicient distance to cause trouble, the steam coil is passed from the oil jacketed space into tank A over the top of the tank edge.

After the superheated steam has performed the function of agitating the mass of oil under treatment, it will pass out through the opening at the top .of the tank A and,i through the vent opening Vin the top of the hood I) as steam and at the same time the water, gasoline ends, and other volatile constituents of the contents of the tank will be ycarried off as vapors in the same manner. This process is continued a,

su'licient length of time to drive off all volatile extraneous matter.

The valves g1 are then closed. The heat is shut oif by cutting ott' the supply of gas to lthe burner E, and the contents of the tank allowed to cool slowly. Water is then fed in slowly through thel pipefH, valve h, and cock 71.1, to the bottom of tank A' from any suitable source of supply.l That the Water may not agitate thecontents of tank A by carrying air in with it, ya standpipe or vent H1 is provided. Y

As the water at the bottom forces the body of the oil to rise in tank A, the purified oil is carried olf through an enlarged inlet I1, of an overliow-pipe I to any suitable storage space. When all the clarified oil has ybeen drawn 0H the valve la. is closed and the rest of the contents of the tank may be drained to the sewer by opening cocks h1 and z.

There is a sampling valve J for drawing off a small quantity of the contents of the tank whenever it is desired during any part v steam under pressure, or a jacket of electrical heating elements; or electrical heating elements may be substitutedfor the burner, or the gas burner may be omitted and one or more electrical heating elements placed in the high temperat-ure oil in the jacket; or the jacket-may be filledA with asbestos or other non-conductor and the electrical heating elements put in the tank in the body of oil being treated, or any other means of procuring and maintaining in the body of oil being treated the desired relatively high and relatively uniform temperature, may be substituted for the jacket filled with oil of high iash temperature heated by the gas burner. f

I claim' as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. An apparatus-for purifying lubricating oil contaminated with volatile fluids and other foreign matter; consisting of a tank adapted to hold said contaminated oil while under treatment, a heating jacket for said tank, means for heating the contents of said 'jacket to a temperature substantially above 212o Fahrenheit, coils of metal tubing within said jacket and extending from said sol under treatment, a--heating jacket for said coils for generating steam, meansv for feedx tank, means for heating the contents of said' ing water into said tank near the bottom 10 jacket to a temperature substantially above thereof, and means for withdrawing the oil 2129 Fahrenheit, coils of, metal tubing withfrom' an u per portion of the tank as the 5 in said jacket and extending from said body of oi rises in the v jacket into said tank from abovethe level In testimonywhereof I have hereunto/Set of oil being treated therein and opening my-hand. Y' V thereinto, means for feeding water into said ROBERT E. LANGSTON. 

